Every year March 20 is International Francophonie Day, that is celebrated by 77 countries of the world.
The holiday celebrates the French language and Francophone culture, that is why annually around 200 million French speakers on Earth observe the day. The holiday commemorates the signing of the Niamey Convention in Niger on March 20, 1970. According to the document, the Agence de Coopération Culturelle et Technique, the precursor to the International Organization of La Francophonie, was established.
56 countries of the world are the members of the International Organization of La Francophonie and 14 others have status of observers. Any country, that wants to enter the organization, should not only prove that its citizens speak French. The country also should have historic and cultural relations with France.
There is another holiday that coincides with International Francophonie Day. It is French Language Day, that was established by UNESCO in 2010. This holiday was created to celebrate multilingualism and promote equal use of all six official working languages throughout the organization.
